Bookmark - Tufted Monkeys at the Houston Zoo (Animal Series - Mammals)

Would have been better with more depth of field, but probably in my top-five list of favorite bookmarks.  Think it was captured with the Bigger Cahoona.

Bookmark - Houston Zoo Orange Monkey (Animal Series - Mammals)

This is one case where a mediocre pic turned into a better-than-average bookmark.  Might even be room for a word or two at the top...

Yesterday my daughter said she found my other blog.  At first I thought she'd stumbled on my other picture blog used to show proofs to folks before a print job.   But no, she said it featured book reviews, and lots of them.  Naturally I was curious so googled it and found that a Jim Mahood did indeed write a prolific blog that contained hundreds of book reviews up until 2007.  Since he mentioned retirement I reasoned that he retired from doing the blog also, or passed away already.  I'd love to get in touch with someone else named Jim Mahood just to see how they've gotten along in life.

Bookmark - See No Evil (Animal Series - Mammals)

Original posted here...one of the more satisfying shoots soon after acquiring the Bigger Cahoona.  I had a Houston Zoo membership and would trot over there every few weeks just to snap pictures.  Though I was given a renewal by our daughter for Christmas, was unable to use it the following year due to the pandemic.  No bother...don't mind supporting them whether I'm able to go or not.

Bookmarks - Ambleside Sheep (Animal Series - Mammals)

 

Search "Ambleside" and you'll see the posting of this pic in its greater extent, as well as the one below:

Bookmark - Meerkat Portrait (Animal Series - Mammals)

A favorite, this little guy looks very much as though he were purposefully posing for a portrait.  Took a lot of post-capture work, as the eyes were almost completely obscured by the surrounding dark fur.

Bookmark - CRJ Screen Shot

"We interrupt this programming..."

Yes, we're interrupting the mammal bookmark series to slip this one in.  I've been a fan of flight simulation since 1987, very early in the life of the Microsoft's series.  There was a huge hole when they stopped development after 9/11, but now they're finally back, and in a big way!  The kids bought the program for me as a birthday present, and my son Andrew helped get it started here on the home computer.  And since yesterday was Allison's birthday and today is Andrew's birthday, suppose this post can be dedicated to them.  Happy Birthday guys...thanks again for the gift!

The other day I bought the first truly study-level airliner to become available, Aerosoft's CRJ.  This screenshot was captured on an evening flight out of Houston, just as I was passing to the left of College Station.  I can get it up in the air now and fly it around without crashing, but there is a lot to learn.  I'm looking forward to getting a handle on using the FMC to fully program and carry out a flight from "cold and dark" to touchdown.  Wholesome way to spend downtime, and it'll keep the neurons firing in my older age...

Bookmark - Peeking Orangutan (Animal Series - Mammals)

So expressive, so human-like.  Definitely see intelligence - even a coy playfulness - behind those eyes...

Bookmark - Bored Orangutan (Animal Series - Mammals)

Think I'll categorize and stick with primates for now.  This is a product of the Bigger Cahoona, captured at the Houston Zoo on 01/20/18.  Made a print of the pic below and posted it so that anyone stopping or passing by my cubicle at work would know that I'm ready to assist in any way:

Bookmark - Baby Monkey Eyes (Animal Series - Mammals)

Suppose we're all programmed to be endeared by a set of cute baby eyes such as these of a little one being held by its mother in the Houston Zoo...

Bookmark - Leopard (Animal Series - Mammals)

Done with the rustic series, now time for animals.  From those that soar overhead down to the creepy-crawlies, we all love animals so here we go...

This guy was captured at the Houston Zoo with the Bigger Cahoona.  Had to shoot through the wires of an enclosure, which fortunately aren't visible due to the focal length.

Bookmark - Zedler Window with Vines (Rustic Series)

 

Bookmark - Zedler Window with Branches (Rustic Series)

Very similar image-turned-bookmark already posted here.

Bookmark - Zedler Shed with Machinery (Rustic Series)

Going to the Zedler Mill in Luling was a bonanza for rustic photography.  I went crazy at this place, as I had it all to myself and was free to follow creative instincts without interruption.  Though still in my dress clothes from meetings earlier in the day (in Austin) I was all over the place, clambering around and through the buildings and pathways that dotted and wended their way through the property.  And it was just in time...I learned that not long after I was there they shut it down for renovation; it was repurposed to become more of a tourist destination.

Series from shoot found here.

Bookmark - Thirsk Medicine Bottle Tops (Rustic Series)

A favorite, this was captured in Alf Wight (aka James Herriot)'s clinic, though he probably didn't use these very bottles.  When it was time to turn the surgery into a tourist attraction they went around and gathered some relics from the 40's and 50's, recreating the atmosphere from the days made so famous in his book.

Bookmark - Adding Machine (Rustic Series)

An old relic captured in the Texas state capitol on our most recent trip there.  Though this would be considered an antique, I remember well as a small kid playing with my grandfather's adding machine, which was very similar.  He had all the latest gadgets, including an electric garage door opener and a wired remote for the TV, which literally turned the channel dial when you pushed a button.

Bookmark - Tall Ship (Rustic Series)

In Corpus Christi they have these tall ships that are supposed to be replicas of the three that Columbus used on his journey to discover the Americas.  Took this picture using the Fuji 7000 point-and-shoot on a business trip in my criminal justice days.

Bookmark - Showboat Machinery (Rustic Series) / Drive-In Theaters

For some reason I really, really like this one.  As a kid I was fascinated with road graders, and had a Tonka toy that looked just like this one that I played with until it fell to pieces.

The reason Showboat was included in the title of this post is because the pic was captured next to the Showboat Drive-In Theater on 2920 west of Tomball, Texas.  These drive-ins were everywhere when I was growing up - it was a staple of the dating scene, and in my flying days (1975-76) they were probably the most recognizable landmark on the ground.  As we all know they fell out of fashion with the advent of the big multi-screen indoor theaters, which made a lot more money on a lot less land, but thanks to a nostalgia movement they've experienced a bit of a renaissance in recent years.

Bookmark - River Oaks Door (Rustic Series)

Imagine finding a rustic scene like this in posh River Oaks.  From a shoot I did on the Azalea Trail here in Houston, which has not yet been fully processed or posted.

Bookmark - Zedler Antique Machinery (Rustic Series)

Full Zedler shoot was one of the first series captured with the Fujifilm 7000 6MP point-and-shoot.  Posted here.

Bookmark - Rustic Scene in Burton, TX (Rustic Series)

 

Bookmark - Bellville Road Sign (Rustic Series)

Captured just outside of Bellville...

Bookmark - Bellville Church (Rustic Series)

Captured just outside of Bellville.  Would like to go back in time on a Sunday 75 years ago...

Bookmark - Literally Rustic (Bellville Jail, Rustic Series)

Will be posting a few in a series of bookmarks created from rustic photos.  I much prefer the rustic over the sleek and modern.  This one ticks two boxes in that the subject is literally rusty, and it's a leftover from a bygone era.  In Bellville (TX) they have a festival every year with parade, etc.  Part of the annual festivities is a tour of the hundred-year-old jail that sits across from the court house.  To my immediate right was a guy laying in a cell pretending to be a prisoner.

Two other rustic bookmarks from the Bellville festival are posted here and here.

Bookmark - Survivor Tree

Captured while on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Love that place.  Each time we've been there we've taken one of the easier trails that passes Emerald Lake.

This was taken with the Nikon D300s (the Big Cahoona, as opposed to the Bigger Cahoona, which is the D850) zoomed all the way in.  Great with the vacation lens I used at the time; the pic below was snapped from exactly the same spot, zoomed all the way out.  As you can see, the Survivor Tree is barely discernible at the top of the rise:

Bookmark - Estes Park Moth

Captured on the grounds of the Stanley Hotel there in Estes Park.  Another bookmark from the original series will be posted tomorrow.

Bookmark - Byland Horizontal

Another of my favorite horizontals, this is of the Byland Abbey, one of my all-time favorite shoots (series here).  Would like to make a super-sized print one day, which would be possible because it was captured with the Bigger Cahoona (D850).

Bookmark - Sunset Key Island

Captured in Key West while on a cruise excursion, this photo features the island of Sunset Key from across the water at Mallory Square.  No roads or bridges to this place, which no doubt increases its exclusivity.

This picture also is part of a more disappointing aspect of my wannabe photographer's journey.  I took the trouble of hauling a tripod up the stairs of this observation deck, but couldn't set it up because of the throng of tourists competing for what little space there was.  So I settled for using the radiulna variety on a rail and very carefully snapped a three-shot panorama.  After arriving home and working with it in post-capture, however, found that my setting of "P" was a mistake, as the exposure was noticeably different in the middle photo, which featured more of the dark trees on the island.  Well, "there goes another one" as they say, but in future trips always used manual and bracketed to capture panoramas.

Bookmark - Zhuqi Waterfall

As noted in the series on our most recent trip to Taiwan, this has a certain beauty but is merely a drainage ditch flowing from rains the night before...

Bookmark - Seven Falls

Snapped this one of The Broadmoor Seven Falls back in 2016 on a trip to Colorado.  A photographer could easily spend an entire day going up and down the hundreds of steps situated astride this amazing formation.  Quite the destination, located just a bit outside Colorado Springs.  This plus an amazing zoo nearby makes it worth a trip there.

Bookmark - Bahamian Waterfall

Stepping away from England a bit, let's have some waterfalls.  This guy was captured on a cruise to the Bahamas...I forget which island.

Cruises are something we sure miss, with this pesky pandemic and all.  Looks like it'll be at least another year before we book anything, if even then.  The ideal vacation - transportation, meals and accommodations are all covered while traveling to exotic destinations.  And for about a hundred bucks a day (for the ocean variety), the price can't be beat.

Bookmark - Ambleside Rock Wall with Shed

While across the pond will feature this, one of my favorites overall from our Ambleside hike, the very picture of rustic tidiness.  It's easy to imagine that these stone walls are ancient, but the average lifespan - according to our guide the first day we were in the Lake District - is only 40 years and they require constant maintenance to stay in place.

Horizontal of same below...